Volition Capital Fund II said the fund was oversubscribed on its original $150m target thanks to strong investor interest in the firm’s small-cap growth focus.

The firm said new investors included university endowments, non-profit foundations, major corporations, funds-of-funds and family offices.

Co-founder and managing partner Larry Cheng said, “We are very pleased to welcome several premier institutions and families into our investor base who appreciate that growth equity has arrived as its own unique asset class.

“Our investors understand the favorable risk-reward dynamics in small cap growth equity, and our focus and track record in this segment helped to drive a successful fundraising process.”

Volition was spun out of Fidelity Ventures in 2010 by US managing partners Cheng, Andy Flaster, Roger Hurwitz and Rob Ketterson.

That followed Fidelity shutting down its private equity business a year earlier amid a tricky fundraising environment post-financial crisis.

The team continued to look after Fidelity’s 26-strong US and European portfolio, with the six European assets joint-managed with Fidelity Growth Partners Europe.

Those companies currently have about $400m invested across them, and include European fan-to-fan ticket exchange Seatwave, transport management company GlobalTranz and person-to-person lending marketplace Prosper.

The firm looks to invest between $5m and $20m to gain stakes of 20 per cent or greater in companies with growth of at least 25 per cent.

It focuses on sectors including software, internet, information services and tech-enabled services companies.